


Seeing Other People

by burnthiscityxx



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23649679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnthiscityxx/pseuds/burnthiscityxx
Summary: Nini thought she knew what she wanted when she broke up with Ricky - until senior year starts and everything goes a little left of center.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series)/Original Female Character(s), Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 12
Kudos: 80





	Seeing Other People

**Author's Note:**

> What was supposed to be a cute little songfic turned into a pretty long oneshot. You guys, I'm INVESTED. Also this was supposed to be kind of fluffy, then it got angsty at the end. I don't know.
> 
> Plot was inspired by Seeing Other People by MacKenzie Porter (great song, by the way)!

On the first day of school, Nini walks into East High on cloud nine. She’s back in Salt Lake after spending two months at a summer program with the Youth Actors Conservatory in Denver, she is officially a senior, and she’s a shoo-in for the fall musical lead. Granted, there’s the teeny-tiny fact that she singlehandedly blew up her last relationship before she went to Denver, but she’s trying really hard not to think about that right now. She’s trying really hard to forget that Ricky Bowen even exists, because if she lets herself remember how his curls feel in her fingers, or how his smile makes her weak in the knees, or how his lips feel against hers…

“Hi, girlfriend!” Kourtney’s voice cuts through her thoughts and Nini automatically breathes a sigh of relief, giving her best friend a hug. She cannot focus on Ricky and all that he is… _was_.  
  
“Hey, Kourt! How was Atlanta?” she asks, quickly opening her locker. Her eyes immediately spot an old photo of her and Ricky stashed in the corner, but she pushes it back discreetly.  
  
“Same old, same old. Family reunions, lots of little kids screaming, good food,” Kourtney chuckles. “But shut up about me, what about you?! Little miss Nini had a very life-changing summer,”  
  
Nini smirks. “It was just…a lot of growth, is all,” she shrugs. “I just feel like a different person, you know? Like, before this, my life just seemed to be about boys. Ricky, then EJ, then Ricky again…I just needed to find myself,” she closes her locker door and leans against it, catching her breath for a second.  
  
Maybe the more Nini says it, the more she’ll believe it. And she does - for the most part. Breaking up with Ricky wasn’t something she had planned on, but it happened one night when the realization of senior year dawned on her and suddenly, they were talking about college and what came after. It terrified her. She had told him they needed space, needed to find out who they were, apart from one another. There was something about finding independence, something about finding their way back to each other…although, if Nini’s being completely honest with herself, she doesn’t quite remember anything except for a lot of tears and a lot of heartache. Still, she did it. She ended things, went to Denver, found herself again and again.  
  
“Well, good for you!” Kourtney exclaims. She looks like she’s about to say something else, but then something catches her eye and her jaw drops. “Um…okay, so how over Ricky are you?”  
  
Nini’s eyebrows furrow and she turns to see what Kourtney’s looking at and _oh_. Ricky Bowen, walking towards his locker. Ricky Bowen, with his messy curls and sweet smile. Ricky Bowen, with an armful of textbooks.  
  
Ricky Bowen, holding hands with a girl who is most definitely _not_ Nini.  
  
Her heart drops into her stomach and she knows that’s not scientifically possible, but it hurts all the same. Kourtney’s voice is going a mile a minute, but it just sounds like buzzing and Nini cannot physically move – this is officially her worst nightmare.  
  
Ricky Bowen, with another girl.  
  
He’s laughing and smiling and his fingers are intertwined with someone else’s and it takes all of Nini’s strength not to break down right there, in the East High hallway, on the first day of senior year.  
  
“It’s fine,” she says finally, her mouth dry as sandpaper. “I told him we should try and see other people – that’s the whole point of breaking up, right?” Kourtney eyes her skeptically and Nini knows she’s not convincing anyone, but Ricky is getting closer and closer and if she doesn’t move, she’ll have to actually speak to him. “We’re late for class,” she clears her throat and quickly turns in the other direction, prompting Kourtney to follow her. It’s a good thing Kourtney’s her best friend and can read her like a book, because she doesn’t ask Nini any more questions.  
  
_Oh my God she's so pretty and you're holding her hand in public,_  
_you never did that with me..._  
_If you're trying to come here and make me jealous,_  
_hell it's working, I didn't think I would be_  
_But I am and I understand if you think I'm kinda crazy,_  
_yeah, I think I'm kinda crazy too._  
_'Cause here I am, I'm going back on everything I said when I didn't know what I had to lose..._

* * *

The bell rings and Nini shoves her English books into her backpack, debating whether she should be rushing out the door or taking her own sweet time to get to lunch. Possibly running into her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend when she hasn’t had the chance to fully process it all seems a little daunting, so Nini makes a quick stop at her locker, biding her time, before braving the lunch crowd in the East High cafeteria. She immediately spots Kourtney sitting at the same table with Gina and Seb, and she hurries over.  
  
“I know it’s only the first day of school, but I’m already freaking out about college applications,” Gina announces, taking a sip from her water bottle. “West Coast? East Coast? Harvard? Stanford? Columbia?” she ponders out loud.  
  
“Talk about first world problems,” Kourtney snickers. “How was everybody’s first few classes?”  
  
Nini shrugged. “Nelson seems like a good English teacher so far,” she points out, even though her mind is a million miles away. Gina is about to respond, when a strangled sound suddenly comes out of Seb’s mouth and they all turn to look at him in shock.  
  
“Are you okay?” Gina asks, thumping him lightly on the back. His cheeks are bright red and Nini thinks his water probably went down the wrong way.  
  
“Are _you?_ ” Seb chokes out and nods towards another table. Nini has a feeling she knows what he’s gawking at, but follows his gaze anyway. Ricky Bowen, sitting with Big Red, laughing, probably at a Youtube video of a skateboarding trick gone wrong. Ricky Bowen, with his brown eyes sparkling, like magic.  
  
Ricky Bowen, with arm around another girl’s shoulders – the same girl from this morning.  
  
And just like that, Nini can feel her stomach churn, can feel anger and disappointment and jealousy bubbling under the surface, ready to explode. “Oh. That,” she manages to say, her voice small. “I saw that this morning,”  
  
Seb stares at her, eyes wide. “And you didn’t think to punch him in the face?”  
  
“Seb, don’t be dramatic,” Nini rolls her eyes – it’s a gesture that takes a lot of effort, she finds. Because if she’s being honest, that was exactly what she wanted to do when she saw Ricky this morning.  
  
She wanted to punch him in the face.  
  
“That’s Kayla Powell,” Gina announces. “She’s in second period with me – Math class. I think she just moved here from California,”  
  
“That explains the tan,” Kourtney chuckles.  
  
The conversation takes off then, with the three of them talking about Kayla – how she surfs, her long blonde hair, and her ice- blue eyes – and oh my God, Nini can’t do this. She can’t sit with her friends and talk about her. Instead, she finishes the rest of her lunch, makes up an excuse about going to the bathroom, and practically runs out of the cafeteria. She’s not sure where she’s going, but her feet lead her to the school gym. It’s still decorated from yesterday’s orientation assembly and Nini kicks around a lone balloon for a while, before taking a seat on the bleachers.  
  
Her mind feels like it’s going a mile a minute and it briefly flashes back to watching Ricky’s basketball games last year, how he used to run up to her after every game. Sometimes they’d go to a party thrown by one of the senior players, but her favorite nights always ended in the Bowen’s backyard, just the two of them, looking up at the stars.  
  
“I didn’t think I’d see you here,”  
  
A familiar voice interrupts Nini’s thoughts and her head snaps up and her heart jumps into her throat. It’s like she dreamed him to life.  
  
“I just…needed a quiet place. To think,” she feels the words coming out of her mouth but it’s like her brain starts to short circuit when he comes to sit next to her. He’s so close, she can feel the warmth of him, and it takes everything in her not fit herself into him like she used to.  
  
“I probably should have told you about Kayla,” he says finally, all in one breath, like he’s been holding it in.  
  
Nini shakes her head and braves herself to look at him. “No, it’s fine, it’s…we agreed, right? That we should see other people? Take some time apart?”  
  
“We met at the skate park. Red nearly ran into her coming off the half-pipe,” he explains with a chuckle.  
  
“Typical Big Red,” Nini smiles, trying to ignore the way her heart is threatening to beat out of her chest.  
  
Ricky turns to look at her then and finally coming face to face with him nearly throws Nini off balance, briefly. His eyes still shine as bright as ever, his lips still curl into that lazy smile, his curls are just a little out of control. He’s so _there_ and Nini can’t breathe, admits to herself that the sight of Ricky Bowen still makes her weak in the knees. She doesn’t know what he’s thinking, can’t find herself to figure it out anymore and that hurts, because she used to know everything about him at one point.  
  
For a moment, she wishes she could take back that night in her room, take back that stupid decision, and ignore the fears she had about growing up. She’s on the edge of saying it, too, in this moment – wants to tell him that she still loves him, still wants him – but the gym doors open with a clang and they spring apart, the moment vanishing into thin air.  
  
“Ricky? There you are!”  
  
Kayla Powell is beautiful, walking towards them like she literally owns the entire East High gym. Ricky jumps to his feet and meets her just as she reaches the bleachers.  
  
“Hey, sorry, I didn’t know you were looking for me,”  
  
“It’s okay,” she grins at him and then sees Nini, still sitting. “You’re Nini, right? Sorry, I just recognized you from some of the pictures from last year, when you guys did High School Musical? You were brilliant,” Kayla gushes.  
  
Nini smiles, but she knows it doesn’t reach her eyes and for the millionth time that day, she doesn’t know if she can do this. “Thanks, that’s really nice of you to say. And welcome. To East High, I mean,” she tries her hardest to be nice, because she doesn’t want it to be like this for the rest of her senior year – dodging Ricky and hanging out with her friends only if he and Kayla aren’t there.  
  
“Thanks! I thought it’d be really hard, moving here, but - ”  
  
“Hey, we should get going, class is starting soon,” Ricky interrupts. His hand is on Kayla’s lower back and Nini can tell he’s just as uncomfortable as she is. If this is as awkward for him as it is for her, well…good. Kayla quickly rattles off a goodbye and slips her hand into Ricky’s, their fingers intertwining, before they walk away together, leaving her alone in an empty gym with her thoughts.  
  
She tries to reason with herself – this was what she wanted, after all. Freedom to do what she wanted and to see who she wanted. She just didn’t know that it meant Ricky would go out and find someone else, so fast. It dawns on her then that she’s actually never seen Ricky with another girl before. For as long as she could remember, she was the only girl in his life (with the exception of Mrs Bowen, but even she didn’t stick around for long). So how was she supposed to handle seeing him be a boyfriend to someone else? Someone who – by the looks of it – was sweet and nice and friendly?  
  
The five-minute bell rang and Nini stood up, vowing to herself that she was going to be just as sweet and nice and friendly to Kayla. She was going to be kind and gracious and try and get through her senior year completely unscathed, stronger for it. She was going to grit her teeth, focus on school and work and the drama club and college.  
  
And most of all, she was going to find some way to get over Ricky Bowen.  
  
Even if it killed her.  
  
_I thought that seeing other people was something I wanted,_  
_but I think I hate it if I'm being honest._  
_It kills me to see you with somebody new,_  
_thought we should see other people,_  
_'til I started seeing other people with you..._  
  


* * *

It’s the first Friday of senior year and Nini is sitting in the Caswell’s kitchen, laughing hysterically at a story that Carlos and Seb are telling the gang. It’s been a week since that disastrous first day, a week since she found out about Ricky and Kayla, and by all accounts, she thinks she’s handling it pretty well. There are days where they’ll all sit together at lunch and all Nini has to do is make sure she’s not sitting anywhere near Ricky – and it’s fine. Sometimes in History class, Kayla passes her a note about something funny their teacher does – and Nini laughs. Of course there are some nights where she drives around the neighborhood and sometimes passes Ricky teaching Kayla tricks on his skateboard, or the two of them getting ice cream – those are the nights she cancels her plans and heads straight home, cries into her pillow and listens to the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack on full blast.  
  
But she’s _handling it._  
  
They’re in the Caswell’s kitchen because EJ’s down for the weekend and decided to throw his first “college” party. Granted, half the crowd are East High seniors, but Nini’s met a few of EJ’s college friends, who don’t stray too far from who EJ is, too. It makes sense, she thinks, that EJ Caswell would easily find his way as one of the most popular boys in college, even after the first week.  
  
“I need fresh air,” Kourtney announces, setting down her cup and grabbing Nini off the kitchen counter. They head out into the cool night air and the stars are bright tonight, glittering across a dark sky. The thumping music is muffled, hidden behind the glass doors, and the girls settle down on the lounge chairs set up by the pool. Seb and Carlos join them a few minutes later, followed by Ashlyn and Gina, joking with one another that they’re all connected at the hip.  
  
Nini leans back and just takes it in – this is what senior year is supposed to feel like.  
  
“I can’t believe we’re graduating this year,” Carlos muses. “Isn’t that crazy? I didn’t think I’d get through freshman year and now look where we are,”  
  
“EJ Caswell’s house? Definitely not somewhere I thought I’d be,” Kourtney chuckles.  
  
“You know what’s even crazier? That this time next year, we’re all going to be scattered around the country or the world,” Seb points out and Nini feels the energy drop slightly – it’s everything she’s scared of, trying to figure out how to deal with the finality of it all.  
  
Just as they’re about to change topics, Ricky and Kayla stroll in, hand in hand. Nini darts her gaze elsewhere, feels herself tense up, before telling herself she needs to breathe. It’s a lot to take in still. Kayla curls herself up on the corner of the outdoor sectional and Ricky perches on its arm, his fingers automatically going to play with the ends of her blonde hair – and Nini feels her heart break for the millionth time this week.  
  
“What are you guys talking about?” Kayla asks and Nini wants to hate her so much, but she can’t. Kayla is sweet and well-meaning and if she wasn’t dating Ricky Bowen, they could have been good friends.  
  
“Oh, the usual. The future, where we’ll all be next year, and the crushing reality of it all,” Gina says it lightheartedly, but everyone knows there’s a hint of truth to her words. “I mean, next year we’ll all be in college – but scary part is what comes after that. Like, where’s everybody going to be in ten years?”  
  
“On Broadway,” Carlos and Seb reply in unison and laughter erupts throughout the group.  
  
“New York too, but I’ll be a lawyer. Or a dancer,” Gina answers. The rest of the group chime in with their predictions – Kourtney would be in California with her own boutique, Ashlyn decides she’ll settle down in Portland with a dog, Big Red chimes in to say he wants his own skate shop.  
  
“Alright, well here’s a question for you guys – who’ll be the first to get married?” Carlos asks and silence falls over the group briefly. That is, until Seb says something about marriage equality and they transition to a different topic completely, leaving Nini to breathe a sigh of relief.  
  
She can daydream about where she’ll be next year (New York or San Francisco) and even where she’ll be in ten years (composing, producing, or teaching), but she can’t even begin to think about what her love life will look like. A few months ago, it would have been easy to say that Ricky was the main character in that scenario – living together, getting married, having kids, growing old together. It all seemed easy enough. But now, sitting in the Caswell’s backyard with the stars twinkling above her, Nini can’t imagine any of it. She doesn’t know where her love life is headed – all she knows is where she wants it to go.  
  
Back to Ricky Bowen and his stupid curls and his stupid, beautiful eyes.  
  
While the rest of the group gets into a heated debate about the new English teacher, Nini’s gaze wanders over to where Ricky is – whether that’s out of habit or if she’s finally growing up, who knows. To her surprise, the expression on his face is pensive, thoughtful, and he’s clearly not paying attention to what their friends are saying. His elbows are resting on his knees and he’s staring off into space, which makes Nini smile, because if she’s being honest, he’s still probably the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. He must feel someone’s eyes on him though, because he turns slightly and just like that, Nini feels her heart fall out of her chest as his gaze lands on her.  
  
She wants him back, thinks she’s decided that the minute she saw him with Kayla. But it’s now – in a crowded backyard, of all places – that she realizes just how much.  
  
Nini wants those memories with Ricky, her high school graduation, college, the rest of their lives together. She doesn’t know how to tell him that though, even now, frozen and locked in on each other. Ricky opens his mouth, like he’s about to say something, but then Kayla puts her hand on his arm and the moment is gone. They get up and walk away together and all around, the noise still doesn’t disappear, even though Nini feels like she’s about to.  
  
Because even though she can picture what she wants her life to look like with Ricky, she’s still hit with the hard truth that his life doesn’t necessarily include her in it anymore. What if Kayla is the one? What if Ricky falls even deeper in love and they settle down in California together with the beautiful house and the dog and eventually, kids?  
  
What if the endgame in this story is Ricky and Kayla, not Ricky and Nini?  
  
She doesn’t want to picture that, either.  
  
_I'm trying hard not to panic and get all up inside of my head,_  
_but I don't know if I can._  
_'Cause what if I messed up and you fall in love with her and you get married and she has your babies,_  
_what if I missed my chance?_  
  


* * *

A month later, Nini is sitting with Gina in the music room, working on lyrics for the junior drama club’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Miss Jenn wanted an original song for Juliet and Nini had gladly volunteered to take on the challenge – except she didn’t know anything about speaking in old Shakespearean English.  
  
School is out for the day, but Nini can hear the school band practicing in the theater and the sound is driving her mad. Every once in a while, the drums come in too early and Mr. Jenkins makes them start all over again. Next door, Nini can hear the robotics club tinkering away, Mr. Mazzarra’s voice loud enough to go through the walls and she wants to scream right back. She’s already gotten a bad grade on a Spanish quiz today, she’s working on a strict deadline for the drama club, and she has piles of homework to get through when she goes home – Nini really can’t afford any more distractions.  
  
“Oh, hey guys!”  
  
_Kayla._  
  
Nini looks up from her scribbled notepad to see her walk in, Ricky trailing behind. He has the decency to look a little sheepish for interrupting, but Nini can’t help but be irritated at the intrusion anyway. It doesn’t help that in the past couple of days, she’s caught Ricky’s eye more than once, has ran into him at the music store several times and it’s just been awkward in general. It makes her even more on edge than usual.  
  
“Hey,” she says sharply.  
  
Gina frowns at her, before turning her attention to Kayla. “Hey, guys. What are you here for?”  
  
“Ricky had basketball practice and I had swim training,” she replies and Nini glances up briefly, a scowl etched across her face. “You guys busy?”  
  
“Obviously,” Nini knows the minute the word leaves her lips that it’s horrible. She’s being horrible and mean, but she’s already having a bad day, is she really expected to play nice right now? To Kayla, of all people?  
  
“We’re working on an original song for the junior drama club production of Romeo and Juliet,” Gina explains.  
  
“That’s so cool! If you don’t mind...I mean, can I see? I’d love to see how the creative process looks like,” Kayla moves forward to sit down in the seat next to Gina and it’s a small gesture, but Nini loses it.  
  
She stands up immediately and it’s like another person takes over her whole entire body. “No!” she shouts. Everyone in the room stares back at her, wide-eyed, and Nini wishes the ground would swallow her whole. “I just...I’m sorry. We’ve got a strict deadline to get this to Miss Jenn by tomorrow and it’s not totally there yet,”  
  
“Neens, it’s fine - maybe Kayla can help,” Gina points out. She hands Kayla the scribbles that they were working on and Nini wants to explode again.  
  
“I need...some fresh air,” she says instead, grabs her phone off the table and storms out of the classroom, down the hall, and out the doors, the cool fall air blasting against her face as she steps out onto the East High courtyard. She feels horrible for treating Kayla that way, but a part of her feels a little triumphant, because if she’s being honest - Kayla already got the boy, she doesn’t need to take over Nini’s music space, too. And maybe that’s an irrational thought, but with the frustration she’s feeling right now, she doesn’t care.  
  
“What the hell was that?” Nini’s head snaps back to see Ricky running down the steps of the school to meet her halfway. He has her jacket in his hand and his eyes are dark with anger, his cheeks already turning a slight pink from the cold.  
  
“What are you talking about?” Nini asks wearily, suddenly realizing that she doesn’t know how long she can keep this up for anymore.  
  
Ricky gestures back towards the school. “That thing with Kayla? You know she’s just trying to help,”  
  
Nini rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I know - but I don’t need it. Or want it, for that matter,”  
  
She sees Ricky take a step back and she’s not sure where all this frustration is coming from - maybe it’s a culmination of the past month, of biting her tongue every time she sees the two of them walk into a room, so incredibly happy. She hates this side of her and it was never supposed to be like this, she knows that. But Nini also knows when she needs to recognize the ugly parts of her emotions and this - this scene between her and Ricky, this confrontation that’s been months in the making - is her acknowledging it.  
  
“Look, Kayla could help. Probably. But this is something I need to do on my own. If I need help, I’ll ask for it. But she doesn’t need to barge in and give her input when I didn’t ask for any,” Nini explains, hating the way she sounds. “I don’t need her taking over,”  
  
“She’s not taking over anything, she’s trying to _help_ ,” Ricky says and Nini wants to collapse right then and there, because she can’t believe this is really happening. She can’t believe she’s standing in front of the boy she loves, listening to him defend someone else’s honor.  
  
“Well, I don’t want it!” Nini cries. “I just want…”  
  
Ricky takes a step forward and Nini falters. He’s so close - the closest he’s ever been since they parted ways. And she wants to just reach out and touch him, because she swears he’s not real.  
  
“Isn’t that always the problem? You don’t know what you want, Nini,”  
  
She knows this Ricky - soft, gentle, but he’s also angry and disappointed and hurt. And she doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how to fix this, because he’s right, he's so right.  
  
He sighs, backtracks, and runs his fingers through his hair as he turns to walk back into the school.  
  
“You!”  
  
Nini doesn’t know what comes over her in that moment, but she’s sure enough that her voice carries across the courtyard, loud enough that Ricky turns around. He’s puzzled, his eyebrow is kinked and damnit, it’s the cutest thing Nini’s ever seen.  
  
So yeah, she’s _doing_ this.  
  
She stomps towards him, each step with more conviction than the last, until she’s standing right in front of him, close enough again that she can see the gold flecks in his brown eyes.  
  
“What did you say?” he whispers.  
  
“You,” she’s a little breathless now, mostly from being in such close proximity to him. “You said I don’t know what I want. And you’re right, I don’t. Or at least, I didn’t. I wanted space to find myself and to figure it all out and I’ve come to a very simple conclusion,”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I don’t want space or to see other people. I want _you_.”  
  
She hears Ricky’s breath catch in his throat and she’s suddenly very aware that his _girlfriend_ is still inside the school and on surface level, this is all wrong - he’s with someone else now - but deep down, Nini knows she needs to do this. She knows he can’t give her an answer, especially with the way he looks completely baffled, standing in front of her now. So she slips her hand in his and squeezes once, twice, three times. Nini looks up at him and lets the moment hang there for a moment. There are so many words still left to say and she’s not entirely sure what’s going on inside his head, still. But Nini feels weightless now, happy with the fact that at least all her cards are on the table.  
  
Now, it's up to Ricky.  
  
_Ain't it just like me to want what I can't have?_  
_Is it too late now to take it back?_


End file.
